You'd be proud of me
by JeniluvzBones
Summary: Zachfic. What if Zach was blackmailed into assisting Gormagon; and the lives of all of his friends at the Jeffersonian rested on his decision? Please R&R!


**I wrote this as part of a challenge on a different site of why Zach became Gormagon's apprentice. This is only intended to be a one-shot, but I might do another chapter for better closure. I hope it gives a good reason as to why Zach would kill someone. I haven't BETA'd it, so please excuse any spelling errors.**

Dr. Zach Addy was typing furiously into his computer which was opened on a digital map, trying to find the place he was just brought to. If he could calculate the speed they were going as well as the turns he had memorised, then maybe, just maybe...

Here it was! He found the place. But just after he found it, he realised it was of no use to him. He had agreed to do Gormagon's bidding now, so his place of residence was completely useless to him.

...

He was approached and ambushed, brought to a big old mansion that resembled a stereotypical Haunted House. He was blindfolded, until he was at the house, when the blindfold was ripped off his eyes before he was being dragged by the elbow through a blue door and into a dark-lit hallway. He was pushed through another door, where he looked around in disbelief. He briefly recalled discussing with Hodgins a scenario where a normal person would say 'Oh my God,' well this was definitely one of those times.

It was like a Holy Alter, but his mind quickly recognised all of the tapestries as the same types as the ones from the vault in the basement of the Jeffersonian. There was one painting which had a man stretched out in the same position as the silver skeleton. He looked around the room, his jaw dropped and his eyes wide. He then looked over at the man standing before him.

"You're Gormagon," he stated simply, the look of terror still in his eyes.

"Is that what they're calling me these days?" he asked casually. Zach looked at the man. He looked like a bad Dracula impersonator, which he supposed was appropriate, given his...hobby.

"I have a small proposal for you..." he said, his lips curled into a half-smile.

He launched into a discussion on why I should join him. Zach had to admit that his logic was dangerously close to being irrefutable, but was still borderline persuasive, and Zach was never one to succumb to a persuasive argument. When he had finished his speech, he looked at him expectantly for an answer.

"You kill and eat people," Zach said bluntly. In Zach's opinion, there was no argument strong enough to compensate for cold-blooded murder without motive. "You're argument is not irrefutable."

The man sighed deeply and dramatically. "Follow me," he said. He grabbed Zach roughly by the elbow and walked beside him.

"You know, technically it's not following if it is against my own will," he said reasonably. The man gave an annoyed grunt and continued to drag Zach to a different room. Zach was a deceptively strong man, but this man's grip was almost strong enough to fracture his humerus.

Zach didn't care if this man tortured him to death; he had seen first hand the devastating effect of murders on families. His mind flashed back to the time when Brennan found out that her mother was killed. Zach remembered the hurt in that strong woman's eyes and there was no way in hell he would cause someone else that hurt; even if it meant risking his own life. Dr. Brennan would do that for anybody as well.

Once Zach was pushed into a quiet room, he looked around. Terror and fear came rushing back to him once more; replacing every ounce of bravery he had felt just a few seconds ago.

There were dozens and dozens of pictures of everyone from the lab. Some were of Booth and Brennan, at the diner, exchanging glances or just exiting the car. Others were of Hodgins and Angela, exchanging glances and kisses...among other things. Some were of himself and Cam when Cam took him to the diner to celebrate his birthday a few days ago. She was on vacation for the actual day, so she made it up to him. There were a couple when all of the team were standing outside the court house after presenting a murder to the jury. Zach looked at the small red marks on the photos and knew exactly what they were. His time in Iraq taught him that they were ways to determine the best angles from which to shoot.

"Your friends are all a big threat to my life's work..." the man said darkly. "If I don't have someone on the inside working for me to my advantage... I will have to be forced to kill them in favour of my study."

He couldn't be serious. There was no way in hell this psycho was serious. Zach just stood there, dumbfounded. He was never one to be lost for words, but he had no idea what to say. If he refused, he wouldn't even have the time to warn his friends that there was a cannibal after them.

"Irrefutable enough?" asked the man menacingly.

Zach looked around at the pictures. The people, who he loved; who loved him, were in extreme danger. What would Dr. Brennan do?

He remembered how Dr. Brennan had killed for Booth before. He remembered Hodgins threatening to kill Epps if he hurt Angela. He remembered how Booth had killed many murderers to save their next victim. Wasn't this the same? If anyone had been in Zach's situation, they would save the people they loved, right? Well, he loved each of them, so his own life was a small sacrifice.

"It...it seems I have no choice," Zach admitted, defeated.

...

He stood in the closet, waiting. He would probably be useless at this. He remembered his lame attempt to stab the cloth dummy as an experiment, and he was usually very passionate about his experiments. Zach still wondered why Gormagon had chosen him. 

Maybe he had heard about Zach's time spent in Iraq, and jumped to the conclusion that Zach was a tough man. Maybe he knew that Zach was the weakest of the herd that is the Jeffersonian team, and thought he would be easily brainwashed. Either way, it did not change the fact that Zach was now preparing to kill another human being.

Right now, he was terrified, but he then remembered how he was being blackmailed into doing this. Gormagon was threatening his friends. He was playing with their lives as if they weren't human beings. Zach knew he wasn't great with people, but at least he acknowledged that they were real people, with family, friends and people who loved them. Zach felt like his home was being threatened; his entire reason for living was at the mercy of a horrible, irrational, heartless human being. He felt the anger rise higher and higher, until he saw the dim light caused by an open closet and pounced, driving the dagger in his hand into the heart of an innocent man who was just caught in the middle of this huge mess that was his life.

...

"The master's logic is irrefutable," he told Booth. Booth was failing to see the logic of his actions. Booth raised his voice, claiming that he saw Gormagon choking a child at the bottom of a pool.

"If you knew what I know, you'd understand...you'd be proud of me." He would, too. It seemed like Booth's entire reason for living was to protect Dr. Brennan. Well, that was exactly what Zach was doing.

When Dr. Brennan told him she was always proud of him, he remembered feeling that rush of love for her; the reason he was killing for her, and the rest of the team. When she had told him there was a hole in his logic, he informed her that she was incognizant of his logic.

She launched into a small speech on assumptions. Every time he replied 'accepted,' he was lured deeper and deeper into the idea that she was buying his story. It was better for all of them to think that he was a murderer. The truth would just make them feel guilty, and that was the last thing he wanted. He wanted to protect them. Of course, it would mean that Gormagon will have to sacrifice him, but that was a small price to pay for his family.

"All of your assumptions are built upon a first principle Zach. To whet the historical human experience as a whole is more important than a single person's life."

"Yes," he replied.

"But you risked it all so you wouldn't hurt Hodgins..."

She had uncovered his lie. She had rationalised his entire plan to protect the people that he held so dearly to his heart. She rested her forehead on his, as if silently reassuring him that even though he was a murderer, she still loved him. He wondered how he had ever doubted her abilities. If she was smart enough to figure him out, then Gormagon would be no match to her, or Booth. He spilled every last piece of information regarding Gormagon's place of residence. He still didn't tell them about his reason, for two reasons. First, his mind quickly processed that he could take the insanity plea, which would be less harsh than a prison. Maybe they could even find time out of their busy lives to visit him now and again; although 

he doubted they would. He knew that Brennan still cared for him, but what about the rest? Would they look at him and just see a murderer?

Secondly, he most certainly didn't want to frighten them in case they didn't catch Gormagon. They would all know that he was on the loose and that he was following them around like a lion stalking a feeble gazelle. He couldn't put them through any of that. He loved them all too much.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

He looked out the window. Dr. Brennan had her palm pressed up against the glass, looking at him. The rest were looking in at him, and he suddenly felt a little more hopeful. He felt blessed that these people were all here.

Dr. Brennan. His very first of all friends. She never once gave him a hard time when he was starting out. When he had first arrived, she smiled invitingly at him and said 'welcome to the family' in an upbeat voice. She introduced him to everyone and warned them all to take it easy on him. When he and Hodgins got into their first argument, she calmed them down by asking them to conduct an experiment to prove that the body they were inspecting was frozen in liquid nitrogen before it was dismembered. Her encouragement on this experiment started a new era for Hodgins and Zach, and she could be held responsible for some of his greatest memories as well as his budding friendship to Hodgins. He had so many brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles, but that was the very first time when he felt like he had a home. It was all because of her. Growing up with so many relatives he was taught never ever to pick favourites, but Dr. Brennan was without a doubt his favourite because it was her who was the very reason and foundation for all of his other friendships.

As he sat there, staring at the white padded walls in his new cell, he recalled every good memory he ever had that slowly developed his motive for killing. He silently swore to himself not to tell a soul, even when he knew that Gormagon would never be able to harm them again. They already went through so much. They didn't need the knowledge of his reason for killing.

Still, if only they knew of what he has risked for them...

They'd be proud of him.

**Comments are really appreciated. I'd love to hear what you think of my analogy.**


End file.
